Thames Estuary Blue by Charlie Hannah (2022)

Picasso famously had his ‘Blue Period’ when his friend died. This is my ‘blue period’ (all artists should have one). It’s a melancholic sounding record that thematically centres on a feeling of technological alienation and what it feels like to be a Millennial in a Gen Z world. There’s a ‘lost-at-sea’ mood to the songs. There’s the blue pallet in some of the song titles, occasional ocean subject matter and the odd watery sound effect. As well as the literal use of the colour blue in the songs/artwork, there is a blue downbeat feeling that prevails the record. While all my records have some downtempo tracks on them, they were always offset by sunny and humourous pop numbers. This album stays in the blue pallet throughout. This is the album where I pioneered the new genre ‘Rock ‘n’ Scroll - gentle, sad and introverted music with intricate/soft production - perfect for listening to on headphones while scrolling Instagram.

The album title is an homage to Dennis Wilson’s 1977 record Pacific Ocean Blue. Wilson’s album is soulful, sad and emotionally heavy, and like the Pacific Ocean, is big and grand in its scope and musical production. I took Dennis Wilson’s title and adapted it for my own environment. Smaller, less glamorous (and less American!), my album takes its title from the Thames Estuary where I spent many a happy summer’s day as a child at the beaches at Southend-on-Sea. I’ve always felt at home in the murky, grey, choppy waters of the Thames Estuary - and this is my paean to it.